Rotary steam-engine



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-811eet 1.

J. BEYSTRUM.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

Patented July 22, 1884.

PEI R mmmm n bw. Washington.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

J. BEYSTRUM.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

Patented July 22, 1884.

UNTTE STATES PATENT FFlCE.

JOHN BEYSTRUM, OF ALLEGHENY CITY, PENNSYLVANIA.

ROTARY STEAM-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 302,316, dated July 22,1 4- Applieation filed February 15, 1884.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN BEYsrRUM, ofAllegheny City, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rotary Steam- Engines; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clearfand exactdescription thereof.

My invention relates to rotary steam-engines, its objects being tosimplify this class of engines, to do away with all valve move mentsduring the operation of the engine, and to provide simple and efficientmeans for packing the parts.

It consists in certain improvements in the construction of the engineand the means of packing the same, as hereinafter described and claimed.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use myinvention,Iwilldeseribe the same more fully, referring to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of my improved engine. Fig. 2is an end view thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical central section thereof,one hub being removed. Fig. 4 is aperspective View, the cylinder-head ofthe exhaust cylinder be- .ing removed. Fig. 5 is a face view of saidcylinder-head. Fig-6 is a vertical section of the supply-cylinder on theline a" m, Fig. 3; and Fig. 7 is a like view of the exhaust-cylinder onthe line y y, Fig. 3, this section being taken on aline cutting thesliding rods parrying the pistons to show their construction. Fig. Sis adetached sectional view illustrating the packing of the drum against thecylinder'heads, and Fig. 9 is a view of the valves employed to connectthe two cylinders of the engine.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

In the drawings, A represents the supplycylinder of the engine, and Btheexhaustcylinder thereof; a, the supply-cylinder head; I), theexhaust-cylinder head, and b the cylinderhead or platebetween saidcylinders Aand B.

O is the shaft carrying the drum D of the supply-cylinder and the drum Eof the eX- haust-cylinder, this shaft extending centrally through theengine and being packed therein by suitable stuffing-boxes. This shaft 0is mounted in suitable bearings, c, on either side (No model.)

of the engine, and carries the fly-wheel C. The parts of the cylinderare cast to shape, and each cylinder is formed of a ring having anannular shoulder, a, around the outer edges thereof, fitting into thecorresponding groove, (6, in the cylinder-heads a b I), and thecylinders and heads are secured together by the bolts 1) passing throughthe two cylinders and the three cylinder-heads. The engine is supportedon a suitable base,F,being bolted thereto by the boltsf, on which basethe bearings c of the shaft 0 are also secured. The inner walls of eachcylinder are formed substantially eccentric to the shaft 0, and the hubsD E are circular, being secured centrally on the shaft, and their outerfaces or peripheries being concentric with the shaft and fitting for aportion of their surface against the inner walls of the cylinders. Theinner walls of the cylinders may be made circular in shape, and thefaces of the hubs fit against them for but a small portion thereof, asshown in Fig.4; but I prefer to form the inner walls of the cylinder ordrum irregular in shape, so that the hub will fit for a greater portionof its face against the inner walls of the cylinder, and only thatportion of the cylinder-walls be eccentric that is required for thesteamspace where the steam presses against th e pistons carried by thehubs. Where so constructed the portions of the cyltl inder-walls betweenthe numbers 22, between the two supply-valves employed in each cylinder,are made concentric with the shaft, and the cylinder is given the shapeshown in Figs. 6 and 7, the portion of the cylinder walls concentricwith the shaft not being employed in the operation of the engine, andacting to form a packing between the hub and the cylinder. To furtherinsure a tight packing between the hub and the cylinder, I have providedthe packing-bars a", fitting in seats in the cylinder and having thesprings a behind them, to force them out against the face of the hub,and thus insure a tight packing between them and prevent the passage ofsteam between these portions of the cylinder and hub. These packing-barsare not necessary, however, as where the faces of the cylinder and hubfit against each other in all ordinary circumstances this is sufficient.The eccentric portion of the cylinder forms the steam-space between thehub and the cylinder, through which the steam employed passes inrotating the hub within the cylinder, and this eccentric portion ispreferably formed in the lower part of the cylinder A and in the upperpart of the cylinder 13, being formed in 'opposite parts of the enginein order that the steam may pass directly from one cylinder into theother, as hereinafter described.

011 the upper part of the cylinder A is the steam-supply box G, havingthe steam-supply pipe and extending part way around the body of thecylinder, in order to reach the point at which steam is supplied to theengine according to the direction in which the shafts. rotate, and asimilar box, G, is formed on the exhaust-cylinder B, this box having theexhaust-pipe 0. The hubs D E are provided with the pistons 72., thesepistons sliding in seats 17, and being mounted on bars 1:, passingthrough the shafts O, and fitting into holes in the pistons. At the baseof these holes are the springs h, which press against the bars k andagainst the pistons, so forcing the pistons out against the walls of thecylinder, so that as the shaft and the hub secured thereon are rotatedthe faces of the pistons press against the inner walls of the cylinder,the springs causing the faces of the pistons to conform to the irregularshape of the inner walls of the cylinder. The pistons are the same widthas the cylinder, so that when the steam passes into the steam -spacethereof it will press against these pistons, and thus carry them aroundwithin the cylinder andcause the retation of the hub and the powershaft0. The construction of these parts in theexhaustcylinder issubstantiallythe same, except-that a larger steam-space is employed inthe on haust-cylinder, as hereinafter referred to.

L L are the supply-valves communicating between the steam-supply box Gand the steanr space of the cylinder A. M are the valves leading fromthe steam-space of the supplycylinder to that of the exhaust-cylinder,these valves M acting as cxhaust-valves from the cylinder A andsupply-valves to the cylinder l3, and M N are the exhaust-valves of thecyl inder B, communicating with the exhaust-box G. All these valves aremade in duplicate, one on each side of the cylinder, in order to allowthe reversing of the engine. These valves are preferably made rotaryvalves, and the valves L L M M are operated through the cylinder-head a,the valves L L being connected with the rods Z and the valves M Mconnected to the valve-rods m", the valve-rods Z bein coupled by the rodZ, and the valve-rods mbeing coupled by the rod an, so that they areoperated together. Pivoted on the cylinderhead a is the lever 12, whichis connected to the coupling-rods Z on by linksp, passing over lugs onsaid rods, so that these valves may all be operated by means of thelever q, formed of an extension of one of the valve-rods Z and fittingwithin the guides q. By this construction the four valves may be rotatedby the moy cment of this lever q, and steam admitted to the engine andthe valves reversed by means of this lever. Vhen the lever q is drawn toone end of the guide-yoke q, as illustrated in the drawings, it opensthe left supply-valve L and closes the right supply -valve L, andthrough the lever 1) opens the right valve M and closes the left valveM, and by drawing said lever to the opposite end of the guideyoke itreverses the position of these valves, closing the left valve L andright valve M and opening the right valve L and left valve M. thusadmitting steam to the opposite side of the engine and reversing thesame, as can be readily seen in Figs. 6 and 7. The exhaustvalves N,communicating with the box G, ex tend through the cylinder-head b, andare connected by means of the valve-rods a and a couplingrod, n, witheach other, so that they may be operated by the lever a", formed of theextension of one of said valve-rods a These rotary valves L M N extendthrough, or part way through, the cylinder, and communicate with portsleading into the cylinders,the valves L communicating with the ports Z,the valves M connnunicating with the ports in in the main cylinder A,and with the ports in in the eX-- haust-cylinder B, and the valves Ncommunicating with the ports a between the exhaustcylinders and theexhaust-box G. The valves M thus form a communication between the twocylinders, so that after the steam passes from the steam-supply box G-through the valve L into the steam -space of the first cylinderexpanding therein, and pressing against the piston h carries said pistonaround until it passes the port in on the other side of the cylinder.The steam then passes through said port into the valve M, and from saidvalve through the port on into the steam-space of the cylinder B, whenit presses against the piston 71 of said cylinder andcarries it aroundpast the port n on the opposite side of the cylinder, and passes throughthe valve N into the exhaustbox G. 7,, m, m, and n into the cylindersare preferably the same width as the cylinders, to give free ingress andegress, and to give wearing surface for the pistons the mouths of theports are formed of a series of openings, '0. \Vhere the engine isconstructed to operate only in one direction, as it is not reversed,these valves and their operating-levers may be dispensed with, the steampassing directly through the port I into the main cylinder, and from itthrough the port in, thence through a port to the port m, and thencethrough the exhaust-cylinder and port )1. to the exhaustpipe.

The hubs D E are packed against the cylinder-heads on either side ofthem in the fol lowing manner: The hubs have the annular rings cl formedon the faces thereof near their peripheries, the rings extendingslightly beyond the faces of the hubs, and the cylinderheads have theannular recesses r opposite said rings (Z, in which are fitted thepackingrings 8, these rings 8 being forced out against IIO The openingsof the ports against the inner walls of the cylinder, and

ing the exhaust-steam through the port at and I steam passing throughthe port in and valve both.

the right valve M, and the left exhaust-valve against the side or faceof the piston, extendton h to hold against the walls of the cylinder,

the rings d by springs 8, four of these springs I being generallyemployed, and the springs fitting in seats back of said annularrecesses. The rings thus prevent the escape of steam from thesteam-spaces of the cylinders between the faces of the cylinders, heads,and hubs. In order to pack the sides of the pis-' tons h against thepiston-heads, I employ the packing-plates t, fitting in grooves alongthe side edges of the pistons, and having springsfitting in seats formedin the pistons, as fullyshown in Fig. 3, and these packingplates bearingagainstthe cylinder-heads pre vent the escape of steam around the sidesof the pistons, while the faces of the pistons bear said faces beingcurved, as at 76", to give a broader bearing on the walls of thecylinder. As preferably constructed, the steam-space of theexhaust-cylinder B is made larger than that of the supply-cylinder, inorder to receive all the steam from the supply-eylinder, as after itsentrance in said cylinder it will expand, and if the steanrspace in eachcylinder were of the same size the baelepressure of the exhaust-steamfrom the second cylinder would materially retardthe effect of the livesteam. This may be accomplished either by forming the hub E smaller orenlarging the cylinder B in the direction of its diameter or width, or

The operation of my improved rotary engine is as follows: When it isdesired to rotate the engine from right to left, the supply-valve L,

N are opened by the levers q and a. Steam is admitted to the boX G, and,passing through the port Z and valve L,expands and presses ing out intothe steam-space of the cylinder A, and the pressure of the steam againstthis piston carries it around until it passes the port at, the pressureof the piston on the opposite side of the hub and the springs h causingthe pisand the packing-platest preventing the steam from passing aroundthe piston, so that all the force of the'live steam bears against thispiston, extending "beyond the periphery of the hub, the force thus beingexerted at the outer end of the hub. hen this piston passes the port m,the piston h on the opposite side of the hub has passed beyond the portsZ, and the steam pressing against this piston operates in the samemanner, carrying this piston around until it passes the port m, and atthe same time forcvalve M into the steam-space of the cylinder 13, anddrawing the first piston it past the port 1, the live steam thuspressing against one or the other piston on the hub and the operationbeing continuous and causing the rotation of the hub and shaft.Meanwhile the exhaust- M enters the exhaust-cylinder B through the portm and operates in the same manner in said cylinder, pressing against oneof the pisthe force obtained from the engine.

driving-shaft, the power obtained from this ,exhaustcylinder increasingthe power of the engine about one third. here the inner walls of thecylinders are made concentric with the shaft for the portion notemployed for steam-space, it is evident that this portion forms a tightpacking between the hub and cylinder, and as it prevents anyback-pressure against the piston until it' passes the supplyport, it isevident that this adds materially to As the hub is rotated in thecylinder the pistons are pressed back into their seats by the walls ofthe cylinder, thus forcing the opposite ends out into the steam-spaceand compressing the springs in the pistons by means of the bars 7;,passing through the shaft, so that the springs press out these pistonsand cause the pistons to hold against the inner walls of the cylinderand prevent the steam from passing between them and said inner walls.The only movable parts of the engine are the shaft and hubs, rotated asabove described, and the pistons sliding back and forth within the hubs,the rods or bars hsliding within the shaft and hubs as they are rotated,so that it is evident there are but few parts to get out of order, andthe engine is therefore durable and but little subject to wear in theparts. The packing of the parts is accomplished simply by thepackingring s and plates t, which can be easily and rapidly replaced atslight cost. The engine has been successfully operated, a speed offourteen hundred revolutions per minute being obtained with a pressureof eighteen pounds steam to the square inch.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. In rotary engines, the combination of the shaft 0, disk securedthereto, sliding pistons h, cylinder having eccentric inner walls,supply-valves L, and exhaust-valves M, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

2. In rotary engines, the combination, with the cylinder, shaft, disk,and pistons, of the rotary valves L M, valve-rods Z m coupling rods l"m, and lever 12, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In rotary engines, the combination of the hub having the rings (1extending slightly be yond the faces thereof, and cylinder-heads havingthe corresponding packing-rings, s, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said JOHN BEY-.

STRUM, have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN BEYSTR-UM. W'itnesses:

O. Y. O. DERGGRER, JAMES I. KAY.

